The treatment of palm leaves from various trees (talipot, palmyra, or lontar) resulted in long, rather narrow leaves. Although some exceptional examples still exist from the early centuries CE, because of their fragility in the humid environment most works only date from the last few centuries. Other early texts written on more durable surfaces (gold, birch bark) mimic the palm-leaf shape. Leaves were stacked, page designations added to the verso (reverse side), and one or two holes could be made through which strings or pins could go to hold the leaves together. These forms allowed for decorative elaboration, including illustrations, side gilding, and the painting and lacquering of the covers and leaves, or more precious material could be used, as can be seen in many of the items in this section.

Contrary to earlier assumptions that paper arrived in South Asia with the Islamic influence, paper was already in use in Nepal by the 12th century. These paper leaves took the same shape, and were gathered together in similar fashion to the palm leaf books.

The text shown here is an unadorned palm leaf book, shown for its plainness. It comes from Sri Lanka, probably dates from the first half of the 19th century, and is a handbook for young students to learn Sanskrit, written by a 12th-century Buddhist reform council leader. The script is Sinhala (the Sanskrit and Pāli languages can be written with many different scripts.)

Gift of Samuel Breckinridge Long, Class of 1904, 1952

Princeton Indic Manuscripts IM 57

For further reading

Ciotti, Giovanni. “Strategies for binding pothi manuscripts.” In Tied and bound: a comparative view on manuscript binding, edited by Alessandro Bausi and Michael Friedrich, 155-190. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.

Palm leaf texts could be voluminous, as is this 196-leaf commentary on part of the Buddhist Pāli Canon. It is divided into 10 phūk, fascicles or bundles, each one held together by a string. All edges of the leaves are gilded, as is the recto (front side) of each fascicle’s first leaf with the title and the chapter number. The covers are lacquered black wood with red, gold, and blue decorations.

Gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897, 1942

Princeton Indic Manuscripts IM 35

For further reading

Grabowsky, Volker (ed.) Manuscript cultures and epigraphy of the Tai world. Bangkok: Silkworm Books, 2022.

By the end of the first millennium CE, manuscripts of the Pañcarakṣā sūtra, a treatise on five protective goddesses, became popular in India and Nepal. At the same time, paper making arrived in Nepal from China. Most spectacular are manuscripts written with gold or silver on blue-black paper, a color combination also present as a luxurious combination elsewhere, from Qur’āns to Buddhist scrolls. The work shown here may very well be the oldest such Nepalese paper manuscript still in existence.

Gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897, 1942

Princeton Indic Manuscripts IM 31

For further reading

Kim, Jinah. “A book of Buddhist goddesses: illustrated manuscripts of the Pañcarakṣā sutra and their ritual use.” Artibus Asiae 70, no. 2 (2010): 259-329.

From the 12th century onwards, manuscripts written on paper leaves not only occur in Nepal, but also in India, often linked to Jain temples. Here the paper tradition may have originated under a Middle Eastern rather than a Chinese influence. This later 16th century work, in slightly squarer format, includes some brilliant illustrations in gold and blue, and shows the tīrthaṅkara Mahāvīra sitting on a throne without touching it. He is likely teaching this very sūtra, part of the Jain Śvetāmbara Canon.

Gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897, 1942

Princeton Indic Manuscripts IM 88

For further reading

Brown, W. Norman. “A manuscript pf the Sthānāṅga sutra illustrated in the early Western Indian style.” New Indian Antiquary 1, no. 2 (1938): 127-9.

This is a Sanskrit manuscript presenting an ancient linguistic analysis of the Rigveda, which itself is the oldest of the Vedas, and had a long oral tradition before being written down. In the 19th century, paper was coming into more general use; yet, as witnessed by this ordinary manuscript, the leaves are unbound and loose, still maintaining a link with the palm leaf tradition.

Gift of Robert Garrett, Class of 1897, 1942

Garrett Indic GIM 78

For further reading

Bronkhorst, Johannes. “Some observations on the Padapāṭha of the Ṛgveda.” Indo-Iranian Journal 24 (1982): 181-9.

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